


Aftermath

by ShayneyL



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Episode: s04e18-19 The Killing Game, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Prompt Fic, Writer's Month 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25783315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShayneyL/pseuds/ShayneyL
Summary: After the Hirogen occupation, Tom Paris goes in search of his best friend, Harry Kim.  He finds out things he did not expect.
Relationships: Harry Kim & Tom Paris
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26
Collections: Writer's Month 2020





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Writer's Month 2020, Day 7. The prompt is "hurt/comfort."

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Ayala was passing out ration packs. "Give me two of the jambalaya," Tom said. Ayala gave him a look. "One's for Harry," Tom explained. As if he would ever be hungry enough to eat two ration packs. They might have all the nutrients a human needed, but they weren't exactly gourmet fare.

Ayala gave him the ration packs, and Tom went in search of his best friend. It seemed like they'd seen each other only yesterday, but from what the Doctor said, it had been over three weeks.

Tom had almost no memories of what had happened during those weeks, and judging from the damage to the ship, that was probably a good thing. Sickbay and Holodeck 2 were destroyed. Three decks had serious damage, and two more needed lesser repairs. Supplies were utterly depleted, since _Voyager_ had been supporting both the Hirogen and the regular crew, and the Hirogen had replicated hundreds of holo-emitters and costumes for their killing games.

They would probably be living off emergency rations for awhile, at least until the parts needed to repair _Voyager_ were replicated. The meal packs were a lot better than the ration cubes, and Tom wanted to make sure Harry got one. According to the computer, Harry was on Deck 6, near the holodeck. The turbolift only went as far as Deck 4. Tom stuck the meal packs in his jacket, and climbed down a Jefferies Tube to reach Deck 6.

Or what was left of it. The devastation was astonishing. Tom looked around the scorched deck and bulkheads, the torn metal, the piles of debris, not even sure exactly where he was.

"Careful, sir," someone said. It was Ensign Ashmore. "There's a big hole in the floor up ahead. Watch out, or you'll end up on Deck 7…unintentionally."

"Appreciate the warning," Tom said. "Can you tell me where Ensign Kim is?"

"Section 19, by the turbolift."

Tom looked around, realizing he had no idea where he was, or where the turbolift was. He knew this area well, but nothing was recognizable.

"That way," Ashmore said, pointing.

"Thanks." Tom went down the indicated corridor, and eventually found Harry at the end of it, working on the turbolift.

"That was fast," Harry said, looking up from the panel he was bent over. He started visibly, obviously not expecting Tom.

Tom was pretty startled himself. Harry looked like he'd gone 18 rounds with a Gorn.

"Sorry," Harry said. He took a deep breath, seeming more rattled than the situation called for. "I thought you were Vorik. He's supposed to bring more power couplings from Engineering."

"Harry, you look like hell. What happened to you?"

"You should see the other guy," Harry said. His smile was tight.

Tom held up the ration packs. "Tell me about it over dinner? The finest Ration Pack Number 32s."

"Thanks, but I really need to finish this. If we get the turbolift repaired, we'll be able to get supplies here a lot faster."

"You look like you should be in sickbay, not working."

"We don't have a sickbay any more," Harry said. "I'm trying to change that."

"The Doctor has set up a temporary sickbay in the Mess Hall."

"I'm fine, Tom." Harry turned back to the open panel.

Tom frowned, watching Harry work. The usually sure hands were unsteady, trembling slightly. Harry was exhausted. And, he suspected, injured. The way he was moving his arm wasn't right.

"Harry, you're about to keel over. If you won't go to sickbay, come with me to my quarters. I've got a medkit there. We can eat, rest a bit, fix you up. You'll be able to work faster if you're fed and rested. I'll help you." 

"A most logical course of action," a voice said from behind them. It was Vorik, holding a crate of power couplers, a couple of tool kits slung over one shoulder. "Ensign Kim, your efficiency has dropped 47% from your norm."

Vorik did not look the least bit tired. Vulcan stamina.

"Come on, Harry. Vorik can hold down the fort while you take a break."

An array of expressions flashed across Harry's face, then he gave in. Thankfully. Tom didn't want to pull rank, but he would if he had to. Harry didn't look right.

"You win," Harry said. "You're in charge, Vorik."

"Great," Tom said. "Let's go to my quarters." He looked around, confused. "Where are my quarters?" He knew they must be okay, because Chakotay had told him Harry would be sharing them. Harry's quarters, near the holodeck, had been destroyed. Between the Hirogen holodeck expansions and the explosions, many of the crew quarters were unlivable. A lot of people would be doubled up for awhile.

"This way." Harry led the way.

They had to take a Jefferies tube back up to Deck 4. Harry really seemed to be struggling on the ladder. Tom made him go first, so he could catch him if he fell. Maybe he should have asked for transport. Though with energy in short supply, they were trying not to use the transporter unless it was necessary.

Finally, they reached Deck 4. Harry staggered a bit as they climbed out of the Jefferies tube. Tom grabbed him, to keep him from falling. "Harry?"

"I'm okay," Harry said. "Just a little winded." He found his balance, and pulled away, heading down the corridor.

Tom followed, concern rising. There was no way climbing two decks should leave young, athletic Harry that winded.

Tom's quarters looked more or less intact. He pulled the ration packs from his jacket and put them on the table. "Want to take a quick shower?" The way Harry looked right now, it might be hard to tell the grease and dirt from the blood and bruises.

Harry looked surprised. "B'Elanna got the showers working?"

"Just sonics. Water's being rationed."

"I'm not going to be picky at this point," Harry said, and headed toward the bathroom.

"Leave the door open, in case you collapse or something."

Harry rolled his eyes, but he did leave the door open. Tom laid out his medkit, then went into the bathroom to get Harry's uniform. Most of Harry's clothing was probably destroyed in the explosion, and there wasn't a lot of spare energy to replicate things like clothes. But he could put the dirty, tattered uniform through the fresher, so Harry would have something clean to wear.

He bent to pick up the clothing Harry had piled neatly on the edge of the tub…then gasped when he caught sight of Harry in the sonic shower. He was covered with bruises.

"Harry, what the hell? What kind of simulation did they put you in?"

"No simulation," Harry said, running his fingers through his hair so the sonics could get it fully clean. He was doing it one-handed, Tom noticed. "They didn't want to hunt me."

"Scared of you?"

"Probably the opposite," Harry said, grimacing. "They thought I wouldn't be challenging prey. They had me work on modifying _Voyager_ instead."

"So you remember what happened over the past three weeks? All of it?"

"Yes," Harry said. "What I could see, anyway. They kept me pretty closely confined to the bridge, or working on expanding the holodecks on deck 6." The shower cycle ended.

"You can borrow some of my clothes while yours are cleaned," Tom said. He found Harry some shorts and a T-shirt. They would be a little loose, but would do.

Harry sat on the couch, and Tom ran his medical tricorder over him. His first instinct was to just beam Harry to their makeshift sickbay and have the Doctor handle it, but as he examined the readings more closely, he decided against it. Harry had a lot of injuries, but none were immediately life-threatening.

"So what happened?" Tom asked, running the regenerator over Harry's face, healing the swollen eye, the bloody scrape at his temple, the split lip… "Who did this to you?"

"The Hirogen. They're very…physical."

Tom had just spent a shift helping the Doctor in Sickbay, and he'd seen a lot of injuries, but nothing like this. He suspected Harry had put up more resistance than most, and had therefore borne the brunt of the violence. Harry seemed mild-mannered, but if you pushed him too far, he pushed back…hard.

"Move your arm out a little, you have a cracked rib." Tom moved the regenerator into position. The rib was partly healed, and must have happened awhile ago. "Why didn't you see the Doctor? This must have hurt like hell."

"They hunted with the safeties off. So many people were injured on the holodeck that medical care had to be rationed. No one was allowed in sickbay, unless they were killed. By the end, only Hirogen were supposed to get treatment."

Damn. It had been a lot worse than he realized. "Turn around." He moved on to Harry's shoulder, which had some ligament damage. Tom found himself getting angrier and angrier as he realized the full extent of Harry's injuries. His back was basically one solid bruise. The regenerator was running out of juice. "Let me get another power cell," Tom said, and fetched one from the medikit. He installed the new cell in the regenerator, and went back to work.

"Tom…I'm okay, really. Maybe we should save it for someone who needs it more."

"Shut up, Harry. _You_ need it."

Harry looked like he wanted to argue, but didn't. Tom finished up healing, then pressed a hypo to Harry's neck. "What's that?" Harry asked, suspicious.

"Just something to help you heal. Come on, let's eat."

The shrimp jambalaya wasn't too bad, as ration packs went. Harry ate his so fast Tom wondered if the Hirogen had fed him regularly. "What did we eat, when Neelix was on the holodecks instead of in the galley?"

"You ate what the holodeck programs provided," Harry said. "You probably had a lot of K-rations in the last week. And maybe some nice French food."

"My favorite," Tom said. "Too bad I don't remember it. What about you?"

"We ate what the Hirogen ate. Synthetic protein."

"I guess that explains why you've lost a couple of kilos."

"They programmed the replicators to mimic the prey that was killed," Harry said. "I…didn't find it very appetizing."

It took Tom a moment to realize what Harry was saying. "Human flesh? They had the replicators produce human flesh?"

"Sometimes Bolian…Vulcan…Talaxian…Bajoran..."

"I get the picture." Tom decided he didn't want the last few bites of jambalaya, and pushed the tray away. Harry was starting to look rather sleepy. "Why don't you lie down for a few minutes, Harry? You could use the rest."

"You…you gave me a sedative, didn't you?"

Tom urged Harry out of his seat and toward the bed. "Very mild. It wouldn't have worked if you weren't so exhausted. You're dead on your feet, Harry."

"The repairs…"

"Let Vorik handle it for a few hours. He's more than capable." By now Tom was practically carrying his friend. He put Harry down on the bed and did his best to tuck him in. "You shouldn't be so nice to me," Harry mumbled. "I don't deserve it."

Ridiculous. Tom knew it was the medication talking. Yet…he suspected it was something Harry truly believed, even if he would ordinarily never say it.

He sat on the bed next to Harry. "Of course you deserve it, Harry. You're my best friend."

"I ruined _Voyager_ ," Harry said. "Turned the crew quarters into another holodeck, recycled essential parts to make holodeck emitters, sacrificed crucial systems… I didn't want to, but…"

_But the Hirogen beat you bloody_ , Tom thought sourly. He stroked Harry's hair. "It must have been terrible for you."

"It was worse for you," Harry said. "You and the rest of the crew on the holodecks…killed over and over again, tortured, assaulted…I should have done something sooner. It shouldn't have taken me three weeks to figure something out."

Tom blinked. Harry had been the one who rescued them? He hadn't realized that. He took Harry's hand in his. "Harry, you did fine. No one could have expected more."

"The worst part is that I was so alone. Only a few us were held out of the games. I was the ranking officer so I had to pretend I wasn't afraid. But I was, and I had no one to talk to about it. I saw you once, and…"

"I didn't know you?"

"You almost killed me."

_What???_ He knew the Hirogen had pitted the crew against each other, but somehow he never imagined anything like that. He lay down beside Harry, arms wrapped tightly around him. "I'm sorry. So sorry. Harry, you're not alone now."

Slowly Harry relaxed in his arms. "Not alone," he whispered, and fell asleep.


End file.
